2006
brought us the incredible debut of the Finnish BROTHER
FIRETRIBE, one of the best AOR/Melodic Rockalbums of the 2000s, brought
with a lot of energy and also delivering us excellent vocalwork of
singer PEKKA HEINO, who also sang on the first LEVERAGE album, which was
also a great 2006 Melodic Hardrockalbum. Now both bands are about to
release a new CD, 2008 is looking very good already, so we had an
interview with the singer to talk about this...

From out of nowhere comes BROTHER
FIRETRIBE, reveal us all how it came to the formation of this band?

Tomppa and I played in the same band for almost
ten years. After that band was slowly put on hiatus, we started messing
around with the kind of music that was closest to our heart. I knew
Jason from the army and Emppu knew Jason and Tomppa through a friend. We
played the demos to Jason and Emppu and they were immediately on the
same wave length
as far as the music goes. The main idea was to have fun and still
is...Suddenly we had an album worth of material and luckily some nice
people were willing to release them.

You (NIGHTWISH guitarist
Emppu Vuorinen) do a lot of side projects, but this one just blows
everything away, because the first BROTHER FIRETRIBE CD is one of the
best releases of 2006, can you tell us all about it and it's songs?

It slowly came together mostly as an excuse to get
together and have a few beers. Songs were put to tape as side products,
the main thing was to have a good time and enjoy the kind of music weīre
all into. We never really cared what the public might think, we just did
what we felt was cool.

ONE SINGLE
BREATH is an amazing pure 80s tune with keys a la VAN HALEN's JUMP and
sounding as if it was coming from an 80s US movie...

Thanks. I think weīre always aiming for that 80īs
soundtrack feel somehow...If a song makes you do push ups it canīt be
half bad!

You are a brilliant
singer, also sing for the band LEVERAGE, with whom you released a great
album too, what are the plans for LEVERAGE the coming months, new CD
etc?

Leverage is coming up with a new album "Blind
Fire" on Jan 25th 2008 through Frontiers Records. Itīs a massive album!

You have had some
success in Finland...

It was a pleasant surprise really because there
were no expectations whatsoever. It was cool to see that there are still
people out there who dig having fun...shoe gazing days of 90īs were
really not our cup of tea so now itīs nice to make music again.

Will BROTHER FIRETRIBE be a permanent band
(truly hope so), with more releases and a possible tour?

Weīll continue writing songs and playing live as
long as weīre having fun doing it. Thatīs the most important thing.

A new CD is coming up, can
you please tell us all about the new songs?

There are no compromises...New songs are in the
same vein as False Metal, we were having a good time writing and
recording them, and I hope you can hear that on the final product. We
really didnīt think about pleasing anybody, we just did the kind of
stuff that came out of us naturally. Songs are highly melodic and weīre
doing our best to make them sound as big as possible.

I heard you were doing
another cover of the 80s US Movie AOR style, CHASING THE ANGELS from
IRON EAGLE?

Yeah, what an amazing song. Iīve always dug that
song like crazy and Mike Reno is one of my favourite vocalists. The song
really fits in with what we sound like.

You did an amazing job with
the TOP GUN song MIGHTY WINGS last time..., I guess NEVER SAY DIE IRON
EAGLE or NO EASY WAY OUT/THE SWEETEST VICTORY of ROCKY 4 are also
possible covers you might do in the future?

Thanks! Hahaha yeah who knows...those are great
songs each one of those...Never Say Die and Sweetest Victory could
get pretty tough on the vocalist, those guys were doing some mighty high
notes to say the least...

And how's the situation with NIGHTWISH at the moment? Seems like a great
success the new singer?

Theyīre doing great, touring like mad and playing
to sold out crowds all over the world. Best of luck to them!

Finally,
some personal questions:

First bought LP:
Matchbox: Midnite Dynamos
Last bought CD/DVD:
Eddie Money: Canīt Hold Back
First concert visited:
Yngwie Malmsteenīs Rising Force Odyssey tour in Helsinki 1988
Last concert visited: Rush
in Helsinki
First own gig with a band: 1992
Favorite singer: Steve
Perry
Favorite guitar player:
Edward Van Halen
Favorite food: Grilled
ribs
Favorite drink: Beer
Favorite country: Finland
Favorite sport: Hockey
Best place to play a gig: Tavastia
club, Helsinki
Music full time job: Whenever
making music itīs a full time job...
Anything to add for our readers: Thanks
for your support and see you soon, keep cool and always play it from the
heart!
Thanks for the interview.